A wide variety of types of structures are known in the art for use in or as absorbent articles, particularly disposable absorbent articles, such as used to collect various body fluids and exudates. In particular, various commercial absorbent articles having a pant-like form are known and/or available. For example, typical such commercial absorbent articles include: adult incontinence garments, diapers for infant and children, training pants and swim wear garments.
Disposable articles of these types generally comprise components for receiving, absorbing and retaining fluids. Typically, the components of such articles include a liquid permeable topsheet, an absorbent core and a liquid impermeable backsheet.
The human body is generally composed of a plurality of compound, as opposed to unidirectional, curves. The curves of the human body are particularly complicated at locations where limbs, such as arms and legs, join the torso. The curves can also be associated with hinge points of the body. For example, the curves associated with where the legs join the torso define hinge areas that are capable of moving in relationship to each other. When an absorbent article is donned by a wearer, the hinge areas (such as the leg and waist openings) are defined by compound curves—not straight lines. Hinge areas tend to be the areas of absorbent articles that are most susceptible to leakage. Conventional absorbent articles, however, are primarily rectangular in shape and thus provide limited curvature in their components. Consequently, conventional absorbent articles are generally not optimal for providing close-fitting seals between the edges of the absorbent article and the skin of the wearer. As a result, undesirable leakages may occur or be experienced with the use of such absorbent articles. In an effort to compensate for the lack of a close, custom fit and to provide desired or required skin coverage, conventional absorbent articles commonly incorporate certain oversized components or elements, such as rectangular absorbent pads in the crotch region or area of the article.
Present day diapers commonly include stretchable side panels such that the garment is better able to conform to the contours of the body of the wearer. Other components of such present day articles, such as outer covers, bodyside liners and absorbent assemblies, for example, however, typically remain totally or at least primarily non-extensible or unstretchable. As a result, when such a garment is worn, only the side panels can stretch.
In addition, such absorbent article garments and/or specific portions thereof are typically subjected to a wide range of stresses such as may vary dependent on the size and movements of the wearer. Unfortunately, however, various conventional diapers do not allow or permit these stresses to be relieved except by degradation of fit. Further, where the stresses are not appropriately relieved, the wearer may experience discomfort as well as red-marking of or on the skin of the wearer. As will be appreciated, fit degradation commonly results or produces a concomitant degradation in the protection against leakage provided by the diaper article. Further, when such conventional diapers degrade with extended wear time, the side panels typically narrow such as to concentrate forces along the sides at the fastening region of the diaper. The resulting high force loads on the fastening region of the diaper often leads to fastener failure, further or increased wearer discomfort, and/or further or increased red-marking of the skin of the wearer.
Also, as a result of a general inability for many diaper designs to adapt to differences in infant shapes, some conventional diapers are difficult to apply onto an intended wearer. Further difficulty may be encountered by the tendency of a conventional diaper to fold back on itself or otherwise curl-up prior to application to an infant. Also, many conventional diapers do not hold the target area portions of the liner and absorbent desirably sufficiently close to the body, thus resulting in increased opportunity for bodily wastes to spread along the skin before such bodily wastes have been appropriately absorbed by or in the diaper.
Further, it is common for diaper articles to include waist elastic members and leg elastic members, respectively, in an effort to enhance containment and/or absorption of body exudates. The outer cover and bodyside liner components of present day absorbent articles, such as diapers, are generally not made of elastic or stretchable materials. In most commercial products, such leg elastics are captured between the outer cover and the liner which results in the outer cover and the liner necessarily being wider and longer than the torso measurements in order to be capable of appropriately accommodating the stresses applied on the chassis when the product has been positioned in the crotch region of a wearer. In addition, in such designs the leg elastics are well beyond (outboard) of the natural bodylines in the crotch region. Also, the leg elastic can be placed in a curved orientation so as to conform to the curved contour typically created by the absorbent article chassis to provide a respective opening wherethrough a leg of the wearer may pass.
In view of the above, there is a need and a demand for improved absorbent articles.
In particular, there is a need and a demand for absorbent articles, such as form-fitting, pant-like, personal care absorbent garments, which desirably self-form seals at natural body hinge points of a wearer.
There is a further need and desire for such absorbent articles which generally desirably provide improved or increased independence of the components thereof.
There is a still further need and demand for such absorbent articles which include in-captured leg elastics such as may desirably simplify either or both manufacture and production and the costs associated therewith.